Nancy Eckerson: Springtime offers a fresh start for runners

Springtime brings a series of firsts — first robin in the yard, first crocus to open, first warmth from open windows. For runners, springtime offers its own firsts as well — first time to run comfortably in shorts, first run on snow-free trails, first race on the calendar. The sense of renewal and optimism that accompanies this time of year may make it an even better time than New Year’s to make running resolutions; after a long winter, we can’t wait to get outside and move. No matter how long you’ve been running, it makes sense once a year to set your running priorities and goals for the year, and then make a plan to make them happen.

The beginning of the race season is a fresh start. Think about when you reset your watch before a run or race — the watch face reads “00:00:00” until the touch of the start button, and the timing begins. No matter what happened on your last run or race, or last season, the watch time is all about what is happening right now. Running coaches advise that every run needs a purpose, that when you start your watch and begin to run, you have a plan for what you are trying to accomplish. This is a great starting point for all runners looking to get the most out of training. For example, if you tend to run the same routes at the same pace every week, you are unlikely to see any improvement.

Every runner responds differently to training being ing ing plan to best meet our individual needs. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel when training since running has been studied for decades and there are a myriad of training coaches, guides and plans to choose from. Typical training plans include a mix of runs that work towards improving endurance, speed and stamina along with recovery runs. The mileage of any of these runs depend on what race distance you are training for, but for basic definitions, endurance runs, also known as long runs, tend to be run at a slower pace and are at least double in length of your typical run distance; speed work includes running short distance repeats at much faster speeds than typical; stamina or tempo runs aim for sustaining a given pace over a given distance, and recovery runs are easy and done between any hard workouts.Of course, it is human nature to avoid those things we dislike but if we are honest about our running weaknesses, and work on improving those areas, this race season could look very different from last year’s. The area I am working to improve on is tempo – in race after race, there comes a point where I can no longer sustain the pace I want and begin to slow. Not surprisingly, I tended to avoid doing tempo runs (20 – 40 minutes at a pace about 30 seconds slower than 5K pace) because I find them to be painful. So this winter I made an effort to overcome this and once a week, I’d hop on a treadmill and do that tempo run. Still painful? Yes. But, I began to see improvement within a month, and can now hold a faster speed for four to six miles outside as well.

If you are well on your way in your training and still looking for ways to improve, you can consider those ‘little’ things that we sometimes ignore in our quest for better times – sleep and nutrition. Adequate rest allows our bodies to repair and rebuild from the strain of training. A study in the journal The Lancet concluded that chronic sleep loss even among young adults reduced the capacity to process and store carbohydrates. For runners, this means an impaired ability to store the energy we need from the foods we eat. Similarly, a diet that is nutrient-poor will not give us the fuel we need to run our best races. Many runners burn enough calories so that weight control is not an issue, but eating ‘junk’ won’t translate to our best race times compared to a high quality balanced diet.

Taking a look at and trying new ways to train can lead to better race results. Changes don’t generally happen quickly for runners, but there’s no time like to present to give it a try.

Running Notes

April 13 includes the aptly-named Out of Hibernation 5K in Portsmouth and the inaugural Saint Mary Academy 5K in Dover, celebrating the school’s 100th anniversary.Nancy Eckerson writes about running for Foster’s Sunday Citizen. You can reach her at nerunner1@comcast.net.